By Harut Sassounian
The California Courier: Dissident Turkish investigative reporter Abdullah Bozkurt, who resides in Stockholm, Sweden, has exposed Turkey’s multilayered and expanding operations within the United States in an article published in the Nordic Monitor titled “Turkey ramps up covert and overt influence operations in Washington.”
Here is how Bozkurt summarized his findings: “Turkey has significantly expanded its lobbying and influence operations in the United States, building a solid and increasingly sophisticated network of registered agents, legal advisers, political consultants, party representatives, nonprofits and public relations firms working in tandem to shape Washington’s perception of Ankara’s policies.”
Foreign entities are required by U.S. law (the Foreign Intelligence Registration Act — FARA) to disclose to the Department of Justice (DOJ) when they hire U.S. lobbying or PR firms. The DOJ website shows the contracts signed by the foreign entities with the U.S. firms, the amount they were paid, and the details of meetings or interactions with U.S. politicians.
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Remarkably, Turkey retained a total of 105 U.S. lobbying firms between 2001 and 2021, according to a March 9, 2026 report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
In addition to its lobbying efforts, Turkey has also engaged in broader influence-peddling activities. According to political activist Laura Loomer, who is a close confidante of Pres. Trump, the CIA “has hard evidence that Turkey, more specifically the Erdogan administration, has directed spending for podcasters to undermine the Trump administration’s Middle East policies.” She posted on X: “the CIA has evidence of this Turkish funding going to at least one female podcaster and at least one male podcaster.” She concluded by writing: “Turkey is the largest financier of the Muslim Brotherhood.” Bozkurt finds Loomer’s claim consistent with “the well-documented track record of the Erdogan government covertly financing operations on U.S. soil, ranging from support for Muslim Brotherhood-linked networks to espionage activities targeting Erdogan critics, such as members of the Gülen movement.”
The U.S. firms hired by Ankara “engage in a wide range of activities, including contacting U.S. officials, arranging meetings, organizing events, writing opinion pieces [in U.S. media], and coordinating messaging campaigns designed to promote Turkey’s policy positions,” Bozkurt wrote.
The FARA filing by Turken Foundation Inc., “a New York-based nonprofit controlled by family members and associates of Erdogan, reveals the scale and structure of financial flows supporting Ankara-aligned activities in the United States. The filing shows that during the six-month reporting period ending November 30, 2025, the foundation received $2 million in funding from Turkish-linked entities, specifically the Turkish Youth and Education Service Foundation (TURGEV) and the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Turkish Islamist foundation Ensar. TURGEV is run by Erdogan’s son, Bilal Erdogan,” Bozkurt wrote.
In terms of direct political lobbying, the Turkish Embassy in Washington signed on April 18, 2024, a new contract for $1.02 million “with LB International Solutions LLC, one of the longest-standing contractors working on behalf of the Turkish Embassy to engage Congress. The firm has also expanded its portfolio to include private Turkish companies such as ONJA, which provides financial and trade consulting services” Bozkurt wrote.
The FARA filing indicated that LB International Solutions LLC is tasked with “providing lobbying and government relations services to Turkiye,” including the adoption of pro-Turkey legislation “that promotes Turkiye’s interests and provides a positive image of Turks, Turkiye, and the United States-Turkiye relationship.”
Furthermore, the Embassy of Turkey in Washington signed in May 2025 a $1.54 million contract with the Washington-based law firm of Saltzman & Evinch to provide “legal advice and analysis on law and policy regarding matters and developments that concern and affect US-Turkiye relations, such as current and potential litigation, pending legislation, and executive decisions and policy,” according to the FARA filing. According to Bozkurt, the Wall Street Journal reported that “the Turkish government used Saltzman & Evinch to gather information on Erdogan critics living in the United States. The firm’s partner, Günay Evinch, a dual Turkish-US national, also hired Rümeysa Kalın (Karabulut), the daughter of Turkish intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın, for a period of time.”
Meanwhile, the Washington office of Turkey’s ruling party AKP reported in its FARA filing that $875,534 was transferred from Turkey for the party’s operational expenses in the United States, while it spent $941,833. The FARA filing stated that the AK Party’s Washington office “engaged in political, social, and cultural activities such as public gatherings and in-person meetings.”
The Turkish government signed on January 31, 2025 a contract with another U.S. lobbying firm, Skyline Capitol, for $600,000. The FARA filing shows that “Skyline Capitol is tasked with engaging both Congress and the executive branch while also expanding Turkey’s reach into state and local political systems across the United States. The firm is required to build relationships with governors, state legislators and mayors nationwide, strengthen ties with Turkish-American business communities, and engage think tanks, academia and policy institutions to shape narratives.” Another U.S. firm, Imperium Strategies LLC, has a subcontracting arrangement with Skyline Capitol.
In addition, Geoffrey Weill Associates was hired by GoTürkiye to work on an initiative of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism to shape public perception and promote tourism in the United States. The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) also maintains a registered presence in Washington.
Turkey spends millions of dollars each year on a variety of U.S. lobbying firms. Naturally, it takes a lot of money to distort the facts, misrepresent the truth, whitewash the Erdogan government’s massive violations of human rights, and cover up past genocides.